Slavery in America for Kids - Abolitionism (1688-1865)

Abolitionism is a movement
to permanently abolish or end a practice or institution.
An abolitionist is a person who favors the
abolition (end) of a practice or institution. From 1688-1865, there
was a non-violent Abolitionist Movement in America to end slavery.
Abolitionists came in many colors - white and black. Some abolitionists worked to bring to the attention of the American people the grave injustices
of slavery by using the publication of
pamphlets, books, essays, newspaper articles, and with debate and conversation.
Although it was illegal to do so, some
abolitionists helped
runaway
slaves who were attempting to escape to freedom.

In the North, success of the movement was slow, but
state by state, their goal was realized. In the state of Vermont, slavery was
prohibited by state constitution. Other Northern states began adding laws
that reduced slavery. Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey passed laws that
stated future newborn slaves would be freed on their 28th birthday. By 1810,
about 75% of the slaves in the North had been freed.

In the South, however, things were very different.
Slavery was part of the economic system. It was a way of life and part of the
culture of the South. Southern states had no intention of freeing millions of
slaves. To the South, slavery was a question of states rights, rights protected
by the U.S. Constitution. To keep the peace, Congress passed a new law, the
Missouri Compromise of
1820. The Missouri Compromise divided the country into an equal
number of free states (North) and slave states (South).

The question of slavery continued to dominate
politics for decades. By 1860, things had really heated up. In the North, a new
political party had formed, the Republican Party. Many
abolitionists had joined the Republican Party. The Republican candidate for president was Abraham Lincoln,
someone who had stated he opposed slavery on moral grounds. Southern states
were worried. They believed Lincoln, if elected, might ignore their states
rights. Lincoln, himself, kept stating throughout his campaign, that he would not
abolish slavery. He did not believe it was his legal right to do so. In truth,
in order to abolish slavery on the federal level, overriding states rights, Congress would need to
pass
an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and Congress was not in agreement on the
issue of slavery.

In November, Abraham Lincoln was
elected president. In December 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. By 1861, eleven (11) Southern states had seceded
and formed a new country. When South Carolina asked Congress to please remove
U.S Army troops from their state and their country, the Confederate States of
America, Congress refused. Shots were fired. The
Civil War began.

For the next two years,
abolitionists tried to convince Lincoln to use his power with Congress to end
slavery. In 1863, Lincoln bypassed Congress, and used his special presidential
powers in times of war to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in non-Union controlled areas. Although
the Emancipation Proclamation was a very clever piece of law, it did not free a
single slave.

Two years after that, however, at the end of the Civil War in
1865, the Republican dominated Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, ending slavery in America forever.